Old Soldiers Never Die...

Sounds of a Tornado

Location: Outer London: Stanmore (Greater London) - Honeypot Lane areaType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Nobody has been able to fully describe the entity that races around the area on cold dark nights, sounding like high wind and just as cold. It is speculated that the haunting is connected to a battle in which Roman soldiers fought.

Charles I

Location: Oxford (Oxfordshire) - Christ Church CollegeType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The former king has been observed around the college grounds both with and without his head. A shade belonging to a former royalist commander also lurks here - he was shot for treason on the site.

Battlefield

Location: Pitlochry (Perth and Kinross) - Pass of KilliecrankieType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 27 July (reoccurring)Further Comments: The bloody battleground between English Government and Jacobite Highlanders, the anniversary of the battle is marked by the ground turning blood red. Reports of soldiers in English and Scottish regalia, both lying dead and others fighting, have also been recorded. As if this was not enough, the area is also haunted by the drifting head of a woman murdered on the site during the seventeenth century, and the tall white spectre who tries to grab people passing along the roads; anyone the ghost touches dies within the year...

Underground Mutton

Location: Portland (Dorset) - General areaType: CurseDate / Time: Still occurringFurther Comments: The death of a crane operator in the nineteenth century, caused by a rabbit warren caving in, gave birth to the belief that saying the word 'rabbit' is unlucky. Instead, bunnies are referred to as underground mutton or furry things.

Overlord

Location: Portland (Dorset) - Unstated public gardensType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: May 1976Further Comments: While walking his dog early one quiet May morning, Mr Murphy suddenly found himself surrounded by tanks, jeeps and American soldiers walking around. Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the scene vanished, leaving both Murphy and his dog shaking. The witness speculated that he had witnessed a brief moment when soldiers were making final preparations for the D Day landings.

First World War Soldiers

Location: Portsmouth (Hampshire) - Hayling AvenueType: Unknown Ghost TypeDate / Time: 1930sFurther Comments: A woman walking down the road walked by a detachment of soldiers travelling in the opposite direction. She noticed they were wearing an old style of uniform, but it was only when she looked back and realised they had vanished did she know she had witnessed something strange.

Charging Horseman

Location: Prestbury (Gloucestershire) - Shaw Green LaneType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 04 May (reoccurring)Further Comments: Killed by a Lancastrian arrow in the 1400's, this glowing messenger is doomed to carry his cargo forevermore. Another story says he was decapitated by a thin wire that was placed across the road.

Chaplin

Location: Preston (Lancashire) - Fulwood Barracks - garrison churchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1960s - 1980sFurther Comments: Killed during World War One, the Chaplin returned to his base, and stayed ever since. He has been seen leaning against his sword, and heard clapping and breathing heavily.

Legion

Location: Purbeck (Dorset) - Flower's Barrow, Grange Hill, Bindon Hill, Worbarrow Bay and Chapman's Pool areasType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A ghostly Roman army is said to march in these areas. Never seen (other than at Chapman's Pool), their presence is denoted by the stamping of feet in unison. Some believe their appearance signifies a threat to Britain.

Musket Fire

Location: Rowton (Cheshire) - Rowton MoorType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Belonging to Civil War soldiers, the exchange of small arms fire still echoes around the area where a battle once raged. The sound of a crying child has also been reported at night.

Scots

Location: Sandbach (Cheshire) - Scotch CommonType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A battle occurred here between Scots and locals in 1651 - the shades of the defeated Scottish troops are reported to be still at unrest.

Army Marching On

Location: Souter Fell (Cumbria) - Side of Mountain visible from Wilton HallType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 23 June 1744 (reoccurring?)Further Comments: Over two dozen witnesses saw a mass of troops ascending the mountain on horseback, though there were no real soldiers in the area. The ghostly army had been seen twice before, always on the same date.

Sounds of Battle

Location: St Albans (Hertfordshire) - Row of shops along Chequer StreetType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The location of the Battle of St Albans, fought during the War of the Roses, is said to still generate the sounds of battle.

King Harold's Army

Location: Stamford Bridge (Yorkshire) - Area over battlefieldType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1812Further Comments: The reenactment of Harold's 1066 victory has been observed in the skies over the field where much blood was shed.

Battle of Bramham

Location: Tadcaster (Yorkshire) - Bramham ParkType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The sound of horses galloping on the field is thought to be those forever fleeing the nearby site of battle, which took several hundred lives.

Location: Totland (Isle of Wight) - The Needles Old BatteryType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A former searchlight tower is said to still beam down a beam of light, even though no light source is contained within. The phantom sounds of a small group of men running down a corridor have also been heard.

Battle

Location: Wareham (Dorset) - Hills around Creech GrangeType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: December 1678Further Comments: Several thousand men were said to have been seen in the area, the sound of battle filling the air. The event is said to have been witnessed by around one hundred people.

Old Soldiers

Location: Westonzoyland (Somerset) - Sedgemoor BattlefieldType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 06 July (reoccurring)Further Comments: The spirits here reportedly include voices that call out to witnesses over the nearby River Carey, and horsemen who gallop silently along. People have also reported pockets of cold air, and watching a white woman glide over the marsh, near where her lover was murdered by Royalists. On the anniversary of the battle, sounds of fighting have been heard.

Battlefield Figures

Location: Wick (Gloucestershire) - Freezing HillType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This area is haunted by several ghosts, all wearing clothing which places them to the Civil War era (the hill was the site of a battle).

Army

Location: Winterborne Abbas (Dorset) - Nearby hillType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 29 June 1662?Further Comments: Two men out riding spotted, from a distance, many horsemen sporting military colours upon the hill. Expecting to cross paths with the army further down the road, they were surprised when they did not, and upon further investigation, there was no other sightings or reports.

Romans

Location: Winterborne St Martin (Dorset) - Maiden Castle (hill fort)Type: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1980s?Further Comments: Phantom soldiers have been reported in this area, while legend says this Iron Age hillfort was built by a race of giants.

Headless Horses

Location: Woodmanton (Wiltshire) - Location known as Patty's BottomType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Rumoured to be a battleground between Britons and Romans, the sounds of battle, accompanied by the site of headless horses, have been reported. The battle was said to be so intense, the valley filled with blood.

Old Soldiers

Location: York (Yorkshire) - Imphal Barracks, FulfordType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1969Further Comments: One soldier in training was taken to sickbay after seeing one of the ghosts which haunted this barracks. The spirits wore black buttoned tunics and cylindrical headwear.